The Best Tony Award Winning Musicals

Updated September 20, 2021 8.4k votes 925 voters 25.7k views

List RulesBest musicals to have won a Tony Award for Best Musical, not just any award.

This list ranks the greatest musicals that have won the Tony Award for Best Musical, though many of these Broadway musicals have garnered multiple additional Tony Awards in other categories as well. Broadway musicals that’ve been honored with the Best Musical award include many that are instantly recognizable by fans around the world, including My Fair Lady and Annie. Thanks to their accolades and their recognizability, each musical on this list deserves a spot as one the best Tony Award winning musicals.

The Tony Awards were introduced in 1947, but it wasn’t until 1949 that the Best Musical category was introduced. That year, the show many people consider to be one of the greatest Broadway musicals of all time took the award: Kiss Me, Kate, based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and with music by Cole Porter. Since then, many amazing Broadway musicals have been handed the award, including Kinky Boots, which debuted on Broadway in 2013.

With so many great Broadway musicals, however, it isn’t always easy to choose the winner of the Tony each year. That was certainly the case in 1960, when The Sound of Music and Fiorello! tied for the top spot. Both Tony Award winning productions were so popular that they’ve subsequently been staged on Broadway multiple times, earning them each a spot on this list of the best Broadway musicals that have won the Tony.

This list contains all of the greatest winners of the Tony for Best Musical. If you’ve yet to see a few of these productions, don’t worry, they’re so popular that they’re sure to make it back to Broadway, and this list includes videos from these top Broadway musicals. Vote up the best Broadway musicals on the list below.

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Les Misérables
Claude-Michel Schönberg, Jean-Marc Natel
Characters: Jean Valjean, Javert, Fantine, Éponine, Monsieur Thénardier
Les Misérables, colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz is a sung-through musical based on the novel Les Misérables by French poet and novelist Victor Hugo. It has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg,... more
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271
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Wicked
Stephen Schwartz , Winnie Holzman
Characters: Wicked Witch of the West, The Wizard, Glinda the Good Witch, Boq, Doctor Dillamond
Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and... more
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Hamilton
Hamilton: An American Musical is a sung- and rapped-through musical about the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, with music, lyrics and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda, inspired by the... more
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The Phantom of the Opera
Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe
Characters: Erik, Christine Daaé, Carlotta, Viscount Raoul de Chagny, Madame Giry
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Charles Hart. Richard Stilgoe and Lloyd Webber wrote the musical's book together. Stilgoe also provided... more
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Rent
Jonathan Larson
Characters: Mimi Marquez, Angel Dumott Schunard, Joanne Jefferson, Maureen Johnson, Tom Collins
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson loosely based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling to survive... more
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Chicago
Bob Fosse , Fred Ebb
Characters: Velma Kelly, Billy Flynn, Roxie Hart, Amos Hart, Matron "Mama" Morton
Chicago (Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville) is an American musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. Set in Jazz-age Chicago, the musical is based on a 1926... more
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The Lion King
Mark Mancina, Elton John
Characters: Scar, Simba, Mufasa, Pumbaa, Nala
The Lion King is a musical based on the 1994 Walt Disney Animation Studios' animated feature film of the same name with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and book by Roger Allers and Irene... more
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The Book of Mormon
Matt Stone, Trey Parker
Characters: Arnold Cunningham, Kevin Price, Nabulungi, General Butt-Fucking Naked, Elder McKinley
The Book of Mormon is a musical comedy. First staged in 2011, the play is a satirical examination of Mormon beliefs and practices that ultimately endorses the positive power of love and service. The... more
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Cabaret
Fred Ebb, John Kander
Characters: Fräulein Schneider, Sally Bowles, Fraulein Kost, Emcee, Clifford Bradshaw
Cabaret is a 1966 musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Joe Masteroff, based on John Van Druten's 1951 play I Am a Camera, which was adapted from the short novel Goodbye... more
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142
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The Sound of Music
Richard Rodgers, Russel Crouse
Characters: Fraulein Maria, Louisa von Trapp, Marta von Trapp, Gretl von Trapp, Kurt von Trapp
The Sound of Music is a multiple Tony Award-winning musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von... more
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128
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Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Hugh Wheeler, Stephen Sondheim
Characters: Sweeney Todd, Judge Turpin, Adolfo Pirelli, Mrs. Lovett, Tobias Ragg
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1979 musical thriller with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is based on the 1973 play Sweeney Todd, the... more
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Fiddler on the Roof
Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock
Characters: Tevye, Chava, Lazar Wolf, Tzeitel, Golde
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his... more
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126
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Dear Evan Hansen
Dear Evan Hansen is a musical with music and lyrics by Pasek and Paul, and a book by Steven Levenson. The title character, Evan Hansen, is a high school senior with a social anxiety disorder who... more
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128
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Hairspray
Scott Wittman, Marc Shaiman
Characters: Velma Von Tussle, Edna Turnblad, Little Inez, Seaweed J Stupps, Motormouth Maybelle
Hairspray is an American musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on John Waters’s 1988 film of the same name. The... more
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Newsies
Alan Menken , Jack Feldman
Newsies The Musical is a Disney Theatrical Productions stage musical based on the 1992 film Newsies, which in turn was inspired by the real-life Newsboys Strike of 1899 in New York City. The show has... more
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102
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A Chorus Line
Edward Kleban, Nicholas Dante
Characters: Zach, Sheila Bryant, Greg Gardner, Mike Costa, Don Kerr
A Chorus Line is a musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban and a book by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Centred on seventeen Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on... more
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109
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In the Heights
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegría Hudes
Characters: Claudia, Graffiti Pete, Camila Rosario, Benny, Kevin Rosario
In the Heights is a musical with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is set over the course of three days, involving an ensemble cast of characters... more
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Avenue Q
Jeff Marx, Jeff Whitty
Characters: Trekkie Monster, Princeton, Mrs.Thistletwat, Christmas Eve, Nicky
Avenue Q is an American musical in two acts, conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore.... more
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Evita
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice
Characters: Che Guevara, Eva Perón, Juan Perón, Perón's Mistress, Agustín Magaldi
Evita is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. It concentrates on the life of Argentine political leader Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentine president Juan Perón.... more
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My Fair Lady
Frederic Loewe, Alan Jay Lerner
Characters: Eliza Doolittle, Professor Henry Higgins, Alfred Doolittle, Mrs Higgins, Mrs. Pearce
My Fair Lady is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who... more
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The King and I
Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II
Characters: King Mongkut, Anna Leonowens, Louis Leonowens, Tuptim, The Kralahome
The King and I is the fifth musical by the team of composer Richard Rodgers and dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel, Anna and the King of Siam (1944), which is in... more
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Miss Saigon
Richard Maltby, Jr.
Characters: Christopher Scott, Kim, John Thomas, Tam, Gigi Van Tranh
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the... more
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The Producers
Mel Brooks, Thomas Meehan
Characters: Carmen Ghia, Roger De Bris, Leo Bloom, Franz Liebkind, Max Bialystock
The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and... more
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Beauty and the Beast
Alan Menken , Linda Woolverton
Characters: Belle, Gaston, Beast, Babette, Wardrobe
Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton. Adapted from Walt Disney Pictures' Academy Award-winning 1991 animated... more
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Annie
Martin Charnin, Thomas Meehan
Characters: Annie, Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks, Miss Agatha Hannigan, Daniel Francis "Rooster" Hannigan, Lily St. Regis
Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original... more